the u.s. and allies may respond by putting their forces on higher alert and building new missile defenses. that will make for more attention and instability in asia. kim jong-un has his finger on the nuclear trigger. he may find himself more isolated and threatened, not more secure. he's already warning that any new sanctions may lead to new nuclear tests. the bbc news, seoul. >> more threatened. that is a worrying prospect. i am joined by the senior adviser for east asia policy at the u.s. defense department. thank you for coming in. what do we know about this latest test? >> the details are still coming in. we think it was more powerful and relatively successful than previous tests in 2006-2009. we're still trying to figure out whether it was using plutonium or highly enriched uranium. >> what is the significant? >> highly enriched uranium would be new. they have limited stockpiles of plutonium carried they would use that up in their testing process. >> we have the united nations saying this